Woman group Say My Identify debuted late final yr, the primary act below Kim Jaejoong’s iNKODE label. Regardless of this pedigree, their single WaveWay was surprisingly faceless Okay-pop — the type of music that might have been peddled by nearly anybody. New single ShaLala manages to be generic another way, although it’s an enormous enchancment upon their debut.
At this level, possibly we simply want to come back to phrases with the truth that Okay-pop’s woman teams can be releasing subdued beigepop for the foreseeable future. In all my years listening to Okay-pop, I’m undecided I’ve ever seen a development utterly eat one half of the trade for thus lengthy. To ShaLala‘s credit score, the music injects a bit extra bounce into this now acquainted template, particularly when the second verse transitions into an effusive rap. Within the grand scheme of this musical type, ShaLala is unquestionably above common.
A lot of this goodwill comes all the way down to the melodies. In one other world, the music could possibly be reinvented with a extra energetic breakbeat and sturdy vocal, however even on this muted model I’m fairly charmed by the refrain. The women’ voices have good character and the percussive backing vocals add a welcome distinction to the airier topline. ShaLala jogs my memory of one thing Apink may need launched within the mid-2010’s, and that’s a a lot better start line for Say My Identify that no matter WaveWay was.
| Hooks | 9 |
| Manufacturing | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8.25 |
Grade: B